Guidelines for next ADP attach priority to balanced regional dev

The Planning Commission (PC) has finalised the guidelines and allocation rules for the next annual development programme (ADP), attaching a special priority to promoting balanced regional development, sources said. The other projects to receive priority in areas of resource allocation include projects relating to livelihood, poverty reduction, information technology and development activities with the committed funds by the donors, according to the guidelines. The guidelines will discourage development projects that were once rejected by the PC and infrastructure projects that would eat up agricultural land. The commission has asked all government ministries, divisions and other public entities to send their project lists to it, latest by March 31 this year. The government agencies will have to strictly abide by the prescribed guidelines and allocation rules, the guidelines said. The size of the ADP for the next 2011-2012 fiscal is likely to be fixed at around Tk 430 billion, a high official in the PC indicated. The new guidelines have outlined a number of broad priority areas for development projects for the next fiscal. Projects linked to poverty alleviation and generation of employment, growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), use of alternative fuels and development of infrastructure and information technology will be on the priority list of the government, the guidelines elaborated.